TUCSON, Ariz.— 40,000 free Endangered Species Condoms will be given away across the country by the Center for Biological Diversity on Valentine’s Day to help couples consider population growth's threat to wildlife before getting wild.

The colorful condom packages include species threatened by population growth and slogans like “Wrap with care, save the polar bear” and “When you’re feeling tender, think about the hellbender.”

“Lots of couples will get lucky this Valentine's Day, but wildlife will be far less fortunate in our increasingly crowded world,” said Sarah Baillie, endangered species condoms coordinator at the Center. “As our population grows and urban sprawl destroys wild spaces, species we know and love pay the price. The Endangered Species Condoms help people understand how conscientious family planning can protect wildlife.”

In the past 50 years, as human population has more than doubled, wildlife populations have been halved. The United Nations predicts that global population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion by 2100. At the end of 2017, there were nearly 326 million people living in the United States. There are more than 7.6 billion people on the planet, with the United States ranked as the third-most populous country.

Scientists agree that we are currently in the midst of the planet's sixth mass wildlife extinction. While previous extinction periods were driven by geological or cosmic factors, the current crisis is caused by human activities.

“The habitat loss, resource depletion and climate change that come with rapid human population growth make it next to impossible for biodiversity to thrive. It's important to bring population growth back into the environmental conversation,” said Baillie. “Endangered Species Condoms make starting that conversation easier, and they’re a more interesting gift than old standbys like flowers and chocolate.”

Endangered Species Condoms are wrapped in colorful packages featuring six different endangered species and information about the impact of runaway human population growth on polar bears, monarch butterflies and other imperiled wildlife. The Center has given away 800,000 free Endangered Species Condoms since 2009.

The Center's population and sustainability program uses creative media to promote a range of common-sense solutions like access to family planning and reproductive health services, as well as education, opportunity and equal rights for women and girls.

Endangered species condoms. Art by Shawn DiCriscio. Package design by Lori Lieber. Images are available for media use.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.